TRUMP HAS RENDERED AMERICA MOST UN-AMERICAN LIKE!

• The global community must be wondering what has gotten into the most powerful leader in the world, even as the President of the United States of America, Donald Trump, goes on a rampage imposing tariffs on every commodity coming into that country. The mayhem unleashed by the maverick and extremely unpredictable leader has not only singed the whole universe in more than one way but also wreaked stock markets big-time resulting in humongous losses to scores of investors. Thankfully, Trump has shown enough signs of sensitivity towards the fast-unfolding events affecting the world’s economy with the initiated moves. Thus, preventing import tariffs from coming into immediate effect is a move that would help the global leadership to recoup.

PC: BBC

• As the entire universe watches with apprehension how things will pan out from the stable of Trump, it’s worth making efforts to comprehend how the most advanced nation in the world, known to set benchmarks vis-à-vis governance and administration, has faltered repeatedly to follow well-established processes of late. A country known to preach to other countries about following due democratic processes has consistently faltered domestically ever since Trump assumed office. The disruptions caused by Trump’s moves in the last few weeks have been humongous to say the least. Sitting on a moral pedestal but preaching democratic norms to the world community is easier than simply following the same. Why is America faltering here?

PC: YouTube

• Trump’s casual and frequent disregard of due process is robbing his country of one of its most admirable traits. A string of events – not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination – reported from America on the back of Trump’s single-minded agenda of Making America Great Again needs an honest assessment of how the world looks at America. The deportation issue has consistently hit the headlines. Of course, universities are bullied, a quasi-governmental office headed by a multi-billionaire with zero accountability shuts down whole departments, the President declares a tariff war, ratcheting up duties on Chinese goods to a farcical 245%, disregarding the impact on American livelihoods. These actions feel distinctly un-American, bypassing due process.

PC: CSIS

• The US Constitution mentions due process twice. Once, to limit the federal govt’s powers via the 5^thAmendment, and again to check state and local govts via the 14^th The idea is to ensure that the government cannot deprive a person of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. There are other democracies and free market societies, but the primacy of due process made America special, until now. Trump has pointed a gun at that American model, and he couldn’t have done it at a worse time. China’s rise has restored the bipolar order that collapsed with the USSR. Some countries have already hitched their wagons to China, but most aren’t comfortable with its authoritarian ideology. America/Trump should uphold democratic norms.